With Blizzcon in our rearview mirror, it’s time for the latest Overwatch tweaks and features. The Overwatch 1.30 update patch notes adds Ashe to the main roster after serving her time in the PTR. It also features updates for Mercy, Symmetra, Roadhog, and Reaper, along with a few bug fixes and client changes. Below, you’ll see a summary of the new character and an overview of all the tweaks you’ll see whenever you jump back onto the payload. Here’s everything that’s new with the Overwatch 1.30 update.
One thing to note is that this update is the one that requires a reinstall on all platforms. This is partially to make the game have a smaller footprint on your hard drive. Before today, Overwatch sat at around 24GB with all the added content. On Xbox One, we pulled a 19.52GB patch while it was 19.85 on PlayStation 4. This will save you about 5GB of room no matter where you’re playing.
Overwatch 1.30 Update Patch Notes – Introducing Ashe
Ashe is the 29th hero to become playable in Overwatch. Shes in the damage class, focusing on a combination of mid-range strikes and close damage. Her primary weapon is the Viper, a lever-action rifle that works similarly to Widowmaker’s Widow’s Kiss. She can shoot semi-automatic rifle shots with a high spread while she’s on the move. Planting herself and aiming down sights gives higher damage, but lessens her maneuverability.
Ashe’s second option is the Coach Gun. This is a short range shotgun sidearm that can launch her into the air if you aim it right. It also deals high damage up close, giving you a chance to escape back to mid-range. Ashe can also throw sticks of dynamite that blow up after a brief timer. This deals explosive damage and sets enemies ablaze, dealing further damage over time. Of course, you can shoot the dynamite out of the air to make it blow up exactly when you need it to.
Ashe’s Ultimate ability calls in her omnic butler B.O.B. He charges ahead similar to Winston’s Ult, dealing damage and shoving opponents aside. Once he gets past the front line, he unleashes hell from a pair of wrist-mounted machine guns.
Overwatch 1.30 Update Patch Notes – Roadhog and Mercy Buffs
Outside of Ashe, the most exciting news in the Overwatch 1.30 update is the buffs coming to four old heroes. Roadhog is getting the most love, with several alterations to all his main abilities. His Chain Hook has recently become easy to dodge if you moved around corners or otherwise jumped out of the way. To fix this, victims of the hook now see reduced momentum, which ensures that they get snared. In addition, the hook’s cooldown automatically starts up after launching, and the delay for pulling in targets has been lessened somewhat.
Roadhog’s junk throwing Scrap Gun also gets a small buff. Its spread pattern now goes more towards the center, letting it dish out more reliable damage. To help towards that, the randomization of the spread has been reduced by half. Beyond that, when Roadhog goes Whole Hog, enemies get knocked back further and Roadhog has more control over the minigun thanks to decreased recoil. Truly a good day for fat Australians everywhere.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, angelic healer Mercy has a small buff to her new Valkyrie ultimate. The developers felt that it was charging too slowly thanks to a previous reduction in her base healing. To fix it back to where it needs to be, the ultimate cost of Valkyrie has been reduced by 15 percent and her healing per second while using the move has been upped to 60 from 50.
Overwatch 1.30 Update Patch Notes – Reaper and Symmetra Buffs
The shotgun-wielding Reaper has gained in some of the same areas as Roadhog. His shotgun spread pattern has been adjusted alongside a decrease in randomization, leading to similar results. More exciting changes come to his The Reaping healing abilities. When dealing damage as Reaper, you’ll gain 30 percent of the damage back as health rather than the previous 20 percent. This lets you stay out on the battlefield longer before retreating into the shadows.
Symmetra has a similarly small buff when compared to the other heroes. In past patches, the developers have worked on getting the technological one’s Photon Projector to a useful place. After increasing its range to little effect, this patch lets the weapon charge up 20 percent faster than before. Hopefully, this will make Symmetra more viable in more situations going forward.
Overwatch 1.30 Update Patch Notes – Odds and Ends
A few non-hero specific updates are also included in the Overwatch 1.30 update. For one, jump height is now consistent across the roster of heroes. I’m not sure how it’s possible that Roadhog has the same vertical leap as Pharah, but there you go. You can test out these adjusted jumps in the spawn room, which has seen some timer-based changes. The setup phase for Assault and Escort maps is now 45 seconds long rather than a minute. However, the time you have to choose your hero has been expanded to 25 seconds from 10, so it all evens out.
Beyond all that, there are various bugs fixed up in the update. You’ll now no longer hear character voice lines from players you’ve muted in the past. The payload will now correctly heal players pushing it during Escort maps, and a skyscraper on Hollywood has been restored from a pitch black state. For the full details on every bug squashed, be sure to head over to Blizzard’s official website.
